the elusive mapo tofu
by czqy
Summary: The 5 times Bakugou didn't get to eat his Sichuan mapo tofu, and the 1 time he did.


**I.**

Bakugou Katsuki knows he is lucky.

He was blessed with a powerful quirk. He's both academically intelligent and street smart. His family may not be the most amicable, but he knows his parents (gag) love him, and he feels the same way.

His fortune in the latter fact has never been more obvious now that he has become acquainted with Todoroki Shouto. The half-and-half bastard would probably correct him there, say that they're _friends_, and Bakugou would normally argue except… He's been to the Todoroki residence now. Had dinner with his family. That's more than anything else he's done with those he's met at U.A..

It is also at said dinner where Bakugou is reminded, once again, of how he should thank his lucky stars.

Because dinner is _awkward_.

Todoroki's brother is flat out ruthless, not that Bakugou doesn't think Endeavour doesn't deserve it, but seriously, talk about ruining the mood. And Endeavour's responses are just as conversation-ending, if not worse. Bakugou knows where Todoroki gets it from now, because his whole family, sans his sister, seems totally socially inept.

The only thing saving grace is the food. Deku is right (for once) in calling it delicious. Everything Bakugou has tried, from the gyoza to the takoyaki is well-seasoned and perfectly crafted. So when he spots a bowl of white cubes covered in red to his right, when he realises Todoroki's sister made _mapo tofu_, he knows it's going to be good, and he knows that he can't not have it.

And it doesn't disappoint.

Bakugou's teeth sink into the tofu like flesh, and the spice erupts in his mouth. The numbness is just at the level he likes it, and he honest to god nearly moans. He immediately scoops more into his bowl, spoons a few cubes, feeds it into his mouth, and—

"I just can't do this."

The flavour is _ruined_.

From then on, the dinner continues in silence, awkwardness thick in the air. Bakugou promptly starts stuffing his face to avoid making eye contact. He tries his hand at the various other dishes, tries the tofu again as well, but it's just not the same anymore. It doesn't hit the right places.

He was finally able to eat mapo tofu for the first time in ages, yet he couldn't even savour it. Needless to say, he's just a bit (a lot) pissed. He doesn't hide it despite the obvious situation going on either, because it's not his style, and he thinks the Todorokis deserve to know they're shitty hosts.

He decides all can be forgiven though, if he obtains the knowledge needed to be able to make the dish himself. When he asks Todoroki's sister to teach him, he doesn't really think about _how_ (he doesn't want to step foot into that house again). He's just glad, if a bit relieved, she actually agreed, in spite of his behaviour.

Todoroki ends up solving the issue by telling his sister to text it to him, and despite having that extra step in the way, Bakugou can't be too annoyed about it.

After all, soon he'll be able to have all the mapo tofu he wants.

**II.**

Bakugou does not get to have mapo tofu as soon as he wants.

In fact, there's no squeak of the recipe he's requested. And since Bakugou isn't about to willingly go start a conversation with Todoroki, he can only grump around, muttering about how he can't trust anyone around here.

He hasn't been able to find the time to visit his favourite restaurant either, so for a long time everything sucks. All the food he eats tastes bland, and even the other 'spicy' dishes he's had in an attempt to satisfy his craving have done nothing.

Just when all hope seems lost, however, Kirishima mentions something that catches his attention as they're walking to their last class.

"Hol' up Shitty Hair, what did you just say?"

"That Jirou's gonna be performing at a festival this weekend? What," Kirishima cocks his head, "you wanna come?"

Bakugou looks at him like he's lost his mind. There's no way he's going to some stupid festival, not unless… "No, what kind of festival did you say it was?"

"Oh! I'm not sure since we're just going to see her," Kirishima brings a hand to his chin, contemplating, "but when she told us the name I did look it up and I think it was mainly a food festival? It's showcasing one type of food though… Ah, spicy food? Hey, don't you like spicy food?"

Boy, he doesn't even _know_. Immediately an image fills Bakugou's mind. He's standing at an entrance under a red banner, and in front of him are miles of vendors selling different kinds of products. A pungent, heady aroma fills the air, and Bakugou wants to bask in it. He knows he'll be carrying the smell home with him on his clothes tonight, but he couldn't care less. _Prefers_ it, even. He sees people all around dabbing their faces, fanning their mouths, and drinking lots of fluids. If this festival is selling spicy food, there's bound to be mapo tofu there.

"I'm going," is all Bakugou tells his friend before entering the classroom and plopping down in his seat.

He's trying not to show it, but he's excited now. He feels like something has come alive inside him, making him jittery and unable to sit still. Throughout the whole lesson his mind is elsewhere, but really, who wouldn't prefer thinking about food over learning about rocks and sediment? It's not like he won't do well in the assessment or assignment anyway. He can afford to zone out for a few lessons.

The festival is just as he imagined, if not better.

For one, it's a lot bigger than he thought it would be. He was picturing a kind of small, local event, covering a couple thousand square metres, but this is more like a couple _hundred_ thousand. His eagerness grows, because this just increases the chances of him finding what he wants, and more.

Beside him, Jirou's emotions worsen. She hunches in on herself, clutches her guitar case close to her chest, and whispers her nervousness to Yaoyorozu. Except, it's loud enough that Bakugou hears it too.

"Oi Earphones, shut it."

Suddenly all the conversation stops and everyone turns their attention to him. Jirou shoots him a glare but immediately becomes timid after, obviously more anxious about what lays ahead of her. It pisses Bakugou off.

"You're going to be fine."

Jirou's head picks up then, and she looks at him with almost hopeful eyes. Everyone else just looks confused.

Bakugou pointedly doesn't meet her eyes when he says, "You're performing for a reason right? You're not shit."

And as soon as those words leave his mouth, her expression brightens, her eyes seem to shine, and her energy is rejuvenated. The others gape at him with open mouths, but he doesn't want to deal with it. He walks off and waves at them.

"I'm gonna go find my tofu, that's all I'm here for, so see you later."

(He's going to make sure to catch Jirou's performance too, watch it from the fringes, but they don't need to know that.)

Even though Bakugou said his goal was to locate mapo tofu, he actually makes a lot of stops to try other foods. He's had samples of skewers, fried foods, drinks, and even spicy ice cream. The last one really intrigued him; the immediate temperature was obviously cold, but as the flavour settled it scorched his mouth. The consistency of the ice cream was great too, it was smooth and creamy, with spicy flakes for extra texture and heat. He made sure to get the business card of that shop, it was definitely going to join his list of spicy food places.

Finally, after wandering for what feels like ages, after nearly filling his stomach, Bakugou spots it.

'_SPECIALTY: MAPO TOFU'_

Bakugou immediately jogs to join the end of the (irritatingly long) line, the moment he's been waiting for having arrived at long last. The image the truck has on their menu is mouth-watering delicious, and Bakugou knows that the actual products don't always look like the pictures, but he watches the customers in front of him walk away with their bowls, and it's _pretty darn close_.

The excitement he felt when he first heard about the festival, when he stood at the entrance, returns. He feels like a kid who's just gotten All Might in a mystery prize. As he waits, moving up the line every minute or so, he pulls out his phone to check the time. There are still around twenty minutes until Jirou's up, and at the rate this is going he can probably make it back with five minutes to spare.

All of a sudden Bakugou feels good about the world. He's happy. He might even join his friends (undoubtedly in the front row) to watch the performance.

When he steps up to the counter, it's with a genuine smile on his face.

Even his voice, when he asks for "Mapo tofu please", is kind and hides no ulterior motives.

But then it all comes crashing down.

"I'm so sorry, but we actually just sold our last serving."

Bakugou's face immediately darkens.

He whips his head around to find the asshole who was in line before him, and hones in on the bowl in one of their hands, the other holding a spoon with the cubes Bakugou _will not be able to have_. He raises his hand, clenching and unclenching as if to contemplate using his quirk.

"C-customer-sama," the server stutters, and when Bakugou redirects his glare at them, they back away in fear.

Bakugou is shaking now. He is _furious_. If he were anywhere else he would've exploded something already, but he obviously can't destroy public property, especially not as a provisional hero, so he's really at a loss for what to do.

"You can t-try our dan dan noodles instead?" The server is very awkward, clearly unsure about what they should do as well, but they must not be scared anymore because they come back to the front. "They're just as good as the tofu. Pretty spicy, too."

They give him a cautionary smile, and Bakugou just stares for a moment, narrowing his eyes.

"Fine."

He thrusts out the right number of notes to pay for his meal, and receives a bowl in return. He snatches a pair of chopsticks from the stand, as well as a few napkins. As he's about to walk away the server bids him farewell and apologises once more, "Sorry again about the tofu, have a good day!"

Bakugou pauses in his steps, and he grips the bowl tighter. He had been forcing the matter to the back of his mind, his anger had gone down, but now that the idiot's reminded him of it his rage is flaring again.

He _stomps_ his way to the stage, shoving the noodles into his mouth to keep him from swearing his head off. The server was right, it _is_ good (bordering on delicious even), but Bakugou can't appreciate it right now. And that just makes him more upset.

He's never been the type to hide his emotions—it's obvious when he's angry—and he must be radiating some dark aura right now because everyone he passes stays bounds away, almost clearing a path for him. Normally he would love this, take it as a sign of respect, but they're not even avoiding him for the right reasons. He wants to scream. Nothing is going right!

Bakugou hates the world. He's angry. He might just go home right now.

**III.**

Following a particularly gruelling training session, Bakugou decides to treat himself to his favourite food. He doesn't care that this could take up his entire afternoon, or that he has to travel a bit to get there; he deserves it.

So, after school he makes his way to his all-time favourite restaurant, orders his go-to dishes (spicy ramen; fried squid; and of course, mapo tofu), then takes a seat outside to wait for his food to arrive. The weather's pleasant, and hell if he's going to be cramped inside with a bunch of nobody extras.

Bakugou also likes to be outside because it means he can see what's going on. If a crisis arises, he can spring into action as soon as possible.

He comes to regret his genius thinking for the first time when something actually does happen.

Because while he's digging into his second dish, eagerly awaiting his tofu (the anticipation makes him all the more ecstatic to eat it), someone races by and knocks several pedestrians over.

The suddenness of it dazes Bakugou, he freezes with his chopsticks in his mouth, and twists around to make sure that actually just happened. When he confirms that the situation is legitimately bad—a few people are running after the culprit yelling for someone to stop them, he peeks around to see whether someone else is coming. It doesn't seem like anyone is. Bakugou repeatedly looks between his food, the streets, and the restaurant, but everyone seems a little helpless and afraid.

Realising he's the only one present who's going to be able to do something, Bakugou growls and slams his chopsticks down on his table. He pushes his chair back and jumps onto the main road to chase the runner. As he increases his speed, he thinks about the tofu (_his_ tofu) cooking in the restaurant's kitchen, and how _once again_, he won't be able to eat it.

The thought fuels his anger, increases the force of his explosions, and propels him straight into the back of person he's chasing.

Once they finish tumbling, he sits on top of them, digs his knee right into the middle of their back, and presses his forearm against the back of their neck.

"_What_," he snarls, "are you doing?!"

"I-I'm sorry!" The person struggles, "Ease up, ease up!"

Bakugou pushes harder.

"I won't go anywhere, I swear! _Please_, I'll atone for my crimes! Arrest me, do whatever, just… _chill_."

The informalness of the plea catches Bakugou off guard, and he loosens his hold. The criminal twists around to get comfortable, but Bakugou maintains a tight grip, squeezing in warning whenever he thinks they're pushing the boundaries. After they finally settle, they turn to face Bakugou.

"Bro, the fuck you so pissed for?"

_You ruined my fucking tofu_, Bakugou wants to shout. Instead, he just glares.

"Seriously, I've never met another hero like you. Wait, _are_ you even a hero? Because that's also illegal, you know. Then you'll get arrested alongside me. So why don't we figure something out together? You—"

"Should shut up, before I punish you _myself_."

Bakugou puts his palm close to their ear, makes sure they can hear the crackle of his quirk. He worked hard to get his provisional licence, he's not going to have anyone undermine it.

Thankfully, his threat works. The criminal stays quiet, and when the police finally arrive, Bakugou hands them over. He gets a pat on the back for it, and the praise he receives boosts his ego, but he finds that his happiness doesn't sink below the surface. Something is missing, and Bakugou knows exactly what.

After the situation is diffused, Bakugou rushes back to the restaurant where he was eating before. He doesn't even care if they cleared his table, he'll just make another order. His day has been amazing, mapo tofu will just be the icing on top.

Except…

Two glass doors stand in the way of Bakugou and his great love.

And taped on the centre of one of them is a note, written in scrawny, rushed handwriting, 'Sorry, closed early! Villain pursuit in progress.'

Fuck. Bakugou's. Life.

Of course his own actions have come back to bite him in the ass. He wonders if he hits his head against the glass enough times whether the restaurant will open shop for him.

**IV.**

At long last, the day has arrived. Bakugou is finally going to have mapo tofu.

He's made sure to remove any kind of obstacles; he got to the shop at an early (but reasonable) time, and most importantly—he's alone. Far, far away from any possible crime scenes, and any people at all. He's not about to risk having someone ruin his experience for the nth time.

Because he ordered his meal to go, he looks around for somewhere desolate to sit and enjoy it. In the end, he settles for a small park in the middle of the residential area, and plops down against the trunk of a tree. It's comfortable in the shade, and Bakugou kicks back, relaxing. He opens the container and brings a spoonful of the tofu to his mouth. He closes his jaw, ready to bite down, and—

"Hey, is that mapo tofu?!"

Bakugou opens his eyes to find a _child_ next to him. Where they came from, and how they snuck up on him, he has no idea. And where are their parents? He looks around them but there's no one else at the park.

"Man, I love mapo tofu! My parents rarely let me have it though…" The child pouts, then glances up at Bakugou with what would be classified 'puppy dog eyes'. Only thing is, that doesn't work with Bakugou. He isn't heartless though, so he won't eat in front of the child. He sets down his food and patiently waits for the kid to get bored and leave.

But they don't.

In fact, Bakugou's lack of answers seem to make them more incessant.

"Oh! Aren't you the one who won the U.A. sports festival?" They suddenly get _really_ close, and Bakugou draws back. He never thought he'd dislike being known. "That's so cool! Your quirk is so powerful, it's like _schwa, pah, ha!_ All I can do with my quirk is make things their complementary colour." The child touches the grass between them, and it turns red. Honestly, Bakugou is fascinated.

"I don't think I can get into the hero course, but I still want to go! It's my dream school, and there are so many cool people there! Hey, do you get to see All Might every day? He is _sooooo_—"

Their words get cut off by Bakugou shoving food into their mouth. When they hum around the spoon and eagerly chew, Bakugou is unbelievably jealous. _He_ wants to be in that position. He wants to be eating the delicious tofu. Instead, he's _feeding_ it to someone else. And it's not like he can try some himself now, because there's no way he's sharing the spoon with a stranger (not like he would share it with people he knows either), and he's not about to eat with his hands.

So, he can only watch on as the kid has what seems like the feast of their life, his own stomach starting to grumble.

If he's not going to be eating, he may as well head back to the dorms to make a meal, so he places the box in the child's lap, and stands up to leave.

Before he can even take a step in the other direction, however, something clasps his arm. He turns back around to see the child beaming up at him, mouth red with the spicy sauce.

"Thank you, Mister! I'll always be rooting for you!"

Bakugou frees himself and walks away. Once he reaches the boundary between the grass and the concrete path, he pauses and says, "When you get into U.A., come and say hi to senpai."

It's not the first time Bakugou hasn't been able to eat his mapo tofu, but (with a small smile on his face) it's the first time he hasn't minded.

**V.**

When Bakugou finally receives Todoroki's sister's mapo tofu recipe, it's with a message that says, 'Sis texted me a few days ago, sorry it's late'. Bakugou's head nearly explodes, because _How dare the bastard keep this secret from me?! _

He calms himself down by reading the recipe, going over the ingredients and instructions. It doesn't seem that difficult, and Todoroki's sister included a lot of her own notes, so Bakugou's sure that he'll be able to nail it first try.

That same weekend, he goes out to the grocery store to buy the necessary materials, and makes sure to label everything _very_ clearly (meaning, with threats) so none of his no-good nosey classmates will take it for themselves.

Bakugou's so eager to try the recipe he can barely sleep, but he wills himself to be patient. In less than a day, he'll be having mapo tofu. And what's more, it'll be made by his own hands.

The next day, the class decides to have some kind of a party, and they end up ordering pizza for everyone. Bakugou doesn't complain, because, free food, but it would be a lie to say he isn't very disappointed about not being able to cook for himself. As he munches on the crust though, he tells himself that he can wait longer. He's already held out for so long, after all.

As if to really emphasise that point, on the afternoon Bakugou has allocated to making mapo tofu, he takes a nap after school first. (_No_, he is not a grandpa; he just values his sleep.)

It ends up working in his favour, because he wakes up ravenous, and past the time his classmates usually have dinner. So when he stumbles into the kitchen, still a bit sluggish, it's practically empty. A lot of them _are_ hanging out in the lounge though—a kind of habit they have following their last meal of the day. Bakugou doesn't care what they do so long as they don't get in his way.

He pulls out the recipe saved on his phone, and begins following it.

Cook tofu; make sauce; put it all together.

Once he's done, he stops to admire it for a moment. It's beautiful. The red is a perfect deep shade, the cubes are neatly collapsed atop each other. He's such a good cook.

He decides to clean up while the tofu sits and cools a bit (he isn't about to burn his tongue), which is the biggest mistake he makes.

Because for some reason, the sound of a tap running and pots clanging draws more attention than all the noises he had been making earlier while cooking. Soon, a few heads pop into his area, and before they even say anything to him, their attention is redirected to the dish sitting in the middle of the countertop.

"Oh Bakugou," comes Todoroki's voice, "are you trying the mapo tofu recipe?"

Suddenly, everyone in the room perks up, and more people come rushing over.

Bakugou is going to kill Todoroki. (And when did he start joining in on the post-dinner hangouts?)

"Did you say mapo tofu?" Sero comes increasingly closer to Bakugou's food, but all he can do is glare—he's still washing; he's got gloves on his hands and he's holding a soapy sponge.

"Dude, let's try it! I haven't had this in ages!"

_Me neither_, Bakugou wants to snarl. Before he can say anything out loud, however, Kaminari moves lightning-fast and grabs a few spoons, then digs right into the middle of Bakugou's masterpiece.

And it's ruined.

He hadn't even taken a photo yet!

Bakugou immediately goes back to his dishes, scrubbing with much more force than necessary. If he can't project his anger onto his _stupid_ classmates, he'll take it out on the inanimate objects.

Behind him, there are choruses of 'mmh's and 'ahh's. They're all praising Bakugou's dish, but the compliments bounce straight off his ears. None of them go in.

"Bakugou, this is delicious!"

At this, Bakugou turns around again. He glares at all of his classmates who have been selfishly consuming _his_ food, and finally, they stop. A few of them seem to realise what they've just done, guilty expressions coming across their faces, but _some_ of them continue eating, albeit much slower and more cautiously, bringing their spoons to their mouths while maintaining careful eye contact with Bakugou.

"Do you…" Kirishima comes close, raises his spoon to Bakugou, "want some?"

Bakugou eyes the scoop of his mapo tofu, the result of his hard work in the past half-an-hour, and thinks about how long he's waited to finally taste the dish again.

But then he remembers how his classmates got to have the first (and second, and third, and…) taste, and looks over at his bowl which is now less than half full. A lot of the remaining cubes are no longer pristine either, having been sliced and crushed in the process of getting the higher pieces.

"As if I'm going to let you feed me," Bakugou snaps. "Just have the rest. You bastards already ruined it anyway."

He pulls off his gloves and slams them into the bin. He's going straight to bed, he no longer has an appetite.

On his way over, he runs into Satou. The guy comes over and puts a hand on his shoulder, telling him, "I'm no cook, but your mapo tofu was actually really good," before walking off.

Bakugou stares after him. Even Satou (sweet-loving Satou!) got to have some of his tofu. Bakugou wants to laugh.

It really feels like the universe is telling him to just give up on this quest to have mapo tofu.

**+.**

"Midoriya, did you hear about what happened in the kitchen?"

"Oh, Todoroki-kun! Do you mean with Kacchan's food? Yeah, I feel like the whole class was either involved, or heard about it. Why?"

"I was just thinking… He seemed really angry about it—"

"Well, that's Kacchan for you."

"—and that night at my place, he kept complaining about how his mapo tofu got ruined by us."

"Where are you going with this?"

"What if…"

"Todoroki-kun, that's a brilliant idea! I'll let Iida-kun and Yaoyorozu-san know, and then we can start organising it."

* * *

Despite how Bakugou usually behaves, and his (shitty) attitude towards many of their classmates, they all seem pretty keen on the plan.

Midoriya is so shocked by it he questions this out loud at one point, when they're all prepping the ingredients, then immediately goes red.

"This is like a bonding experience isn't it, ribbit? And regardless of our personal feelings, we're a class. That makes us a team."

"Tsu-Tsuyu-chan!" Midoriya feels like he might cry from gratefulness. He looks at his classmates nodding along too, and feels a swell of emotion. He stands up and bows a few times, thanking them for doing this.

* * *

"Kirishima-kun, it has to be you. There's no way he would listen to me, or Todoroki-kun, or Iida-kun, or Yaoyorozu-san."

Kirishima grins, holding up an arm. "Got it. You guys can count on me!"

He makes his way to Bakugou's room, and knocks on the door.

"What do you want?" is how Bakugou greets him. "Your room's next door, you know?"

"Come down to the lounge with me."

"The fuck? What for?"

"Just," Kirishima grabs Bakugou's arm, "come on!"

Bakugou tries to resist but he's pulled along easily. Kirishima grins. There's no way Bakugou wouldn't be able to stop him if he tried. He's just putting up a front. Curiosity has won over, and that means Kirishima and 1-A have won too.

* * *

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Bakugou, happy birthday to you!"

The lights come on, and Bakugou is met with his entire class standing before him.

But more importantly, in each of their hands is a bowl, and in those bowls… is mapo tofu.

Bakugou doesn't know what to say. He's never been in this situation before. He feels _mushy_, but he doesn't know how to (doesn't want to?) express it, so he just stands there looking stupid. Even with his lack of a response, with the fact he hasn't thanked them, his classmates don't seem deterred. They still stand there with smiles on their faces, and it's almost too much.

When he takes a step toward them, they all part, and Bakugou stops as if he's done something wrong. But then he sees that they've cleared a path for him, leading to the head seat of the table, and right in front of that seat is the biggest bowl of mapo tofu Bakugou has ever seen.

He approaches it in a daze, unable to believe his eyes. With a bowl this big, he'll be able to sate his craving for months (maybe even _years_) to come. Someone pulls out the chair for him and he sits, mind still fuzzled. He's just starting to consider how he's going to tackle this, whether to start from the tip or work from the sides, when a smaller mapo tofu serving is thrust in front of him.

It's Deku.

"Happy birthday, Kacchan."

"Did you do this?"

"Ah, no. It was Todoroki-kun's idea, actually."

At the mention of his name, Todoroki steps out beside Midoriya and holds out his own bowl.

"Happy birthday."

"Thanks. For this. And everyone else, too…" Bakugou leans back to regard the class, "Thank you."

The rare, genuine gratitude seems to brighten everyone's mood, and all at once they bombard him with the bowls in their hands.

"Is all of this really for me?"

"Yup."

"No."

Everyone's face falls.

"What do you mean?" Midoriya looks confused.

Next to him, Todoroki's expression hardens. "We all worked hard on this. The least you could do is _pretend_ to appreciate it."

"I do! I thanked everyone already, didn't I?" Todoroki's glare doesn't budge. "I just mean, I don't need all of it. This bowl," Bakugou gestures in front of him, "is more than enough. Like you said, you guys worked hard. You should eat what you made yourselves. That's a lot more satisfying than giving it to someone else." (Not that Bakugou would even know—his food was unwillingly given away, and he never got to try it.)

"Are you sure?"

Bakugou is suddenly sheepish. "Yeah. I want everyone to enjoy this together. We can have a mapo tofu party."

"Par-tay!" comes from somewhere in the back. And then, "Bakugou! Bakugou! Bakugou!"

They're all still just standing there though, so Bakugou barks out a "Sit down!" and everyone clambers for a seat around the table.

They end up having to pull other chairs over too, resulting in an assortment of different chairs of varying heights, but no one minds. They're all chatting happily, all enjoying the spicy dish (between pants and refills of drinks), and the atmosphere is beyond lively.

Bakugou finally gets to enjoy it too.

He carefully takes a section from the top of the tofu mountain and dips it into the red sea of sauce. Then, he brings it up to his mouth, and at last, uninterrupted, bites down.

The flavour explodes in his mouth, attacks all of his taste buds, and the tofu glides down his throat.

It is _good_.

Even better now that he's been denied this for so long, and even better surrounded by his friends experiencing the same thing.

He goes back for another spoon, and another, and another, until he makes it through half the mountain all by himself.

At that point, most of his classmates have finished their own bowls, so he takes the ones of those who want more, and scoops out another serving for them from his own. In the end, he's left with little more than a few bites, but he doesn't mind. He's had more than enough mapo tofu today, and he enjoys watching his classmates enjoy his favourite dish.

As he consumes the last few bits of his 'mapo tofu cake', picks out the douchi and plops them into his mouth, he decides that mapo tofu is best eaten with others, that it tastes even better in good company.

(But if anything ever gets in the way of him and his food again, they will regret it.)


End file.
